[Elecraft] QRP, Portable, and Compromise Antennas

[Phil Hystad]

I have already experimented with this particular setup and sometime later this year I will try it out for real.  On both the Washington coast and the Oregon coast there are beaches that allow cars out on the sand.  This is easy to drive as the beaches are flat, firm, damp sand where the water is still 250 feet away on average.

I have driven my pickup out there many times at Ocean Shores, Washington and Cannon Beach, Oregon.  My next trip to Cannon Beach this summer (during the Seapac hamfest) I will set up a 1/2 wave 20 meter dipole.  I have a 35 foot long fiberglass telescoping pole that I stick in one of the stake holes of my pickup truck.  Then, with the center of my dipole attached to the top and coax already connected I extend the pole up to its full 35 foot length which puts the top of the dipole at 40 feet.  This can be done only when there is no wind as the top is not very stable as I have already discovered.  The ends of the dipole, sort of a inverted-V dipole, are connected to 6 foot long poles I pound into the sand a little bit, just enough for a stable anchor.  They are farther out then the length of each dipole leg since I will have dacron line for about 10 feet which keeps the dipole ends off the ground a bit.

I have experimented with this configuration here on my property but have not yet tried it out for real on the coast but I think this will work very nicely for QRP activity (although, I will also be able to operate 100 watts with my K3 too).

73, phil, K7PEH